By the Red Moon Part 64
Once the Alliance was on the move, there was no turning back from their trek for the Fang Ravine. The dragon riders soared over the ground troops with Duo and his knights near the front of the thousands of steeds. Peering below, the braided prince watched the soldiers and wolves moving at a quick march to the stone walls.
Taking a deep breath when they reached the gap between the slopes, Wufei leaned forward in his saddle and muttered, "Here we go." Anna gripped her handhold and kept her focused blue eyes ahead as they cleared the way into the ravine.
Right behind them atop Scythe with Wing to his right, Maxwell blinked as he peered around the tight space between the walls of rock.
While he was not one to have ever had a problem with Claustrophobia before, he was actually finding himself a little panicked at being in such a small area. With so many other steeds staying packed in from wing-tip to wing-tip, there really was little to no room to go anywhere and the world seemed to be closing in on him.
Though the air above the slopes was too thin for the riders to fly in over them, Duo's frantic mind was making him want to take the chance. He could not feel the breeze rushing past him and his lungs began to work harder to breathe even though there was plenty of air around. Panting, he slumped forward in his saddle as sweat rolled down his face while the edges of his vision began to darken.
Chirping, Wing turned his head to blink his concerned eyes at the braided teenager. His head tilting, the white dragon leaned his muzzle in to lightly nuzzle him in reassurance. Peering over their shoulders, Wufei and Anna's own eyes widened at the sight of their friend. "Duo?" the archer called, the worry dripping from her voice.
Scythe only needed one glance back at her rider to assess the problem. Tilting her wings over so slightly, she created an updraft with the air beneath her.
As the breeze rose to flood over and cool him, the prince was finally able to catch his breath. Forcing himself to take in deep and slow breaths, his skin began to cool. His eyes watering, he blinked a few times to find that his vision had cleared.
Very slowly pushing himself back up, Duo wiped away the tears that had been blown from his eyes and shook his head to clear it. "Man," he chuckled. "I guess I wasn't as ready for this as I thought I was." Giving his knight and dragon friends a sheepish smile, he shrugged, "Sorry about that. I normally don't have a problem with tight places like this."
Wufei grinned, " I am sure that your added anxiety over what is happening did not help the situation. We only have about two more miles before the opening will start to widen out."
"Thank the Creator for that," the prince sighed, wiping the last bit of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. Chuckling, he gave the end of Wing's snout an affectionate pat and reached down to run his hand over Scythe's scales. "Thanks for the help, you two," he grinned. Both steeds snorted in reply and put their focus ahead again.
Sure enough, the walls were slowly but surely beginning to pull back only a moment later. With more space, those soldiers in flight and on the ground had a bit more breathing space. And reaching the start of that spread meant that the walls would only part back further as they went along before they reached Taurus.
And still, the city was beyond their direct line of sight beyond the ravine.
The fact that there was not a trace of sunlight in the already dark crevice was not making the situation any more comfortable.
With the updraft from Scythe's wings staying on him, Duo took a deep breath and let it our in a long sigh of relief that was cut off sharply when a new wave of panic struck him. But this was not a panic from the tight quarters... something else was very wrong. It had taken his mind to clear from his initial fear to notice...
He was picking up on blood-craved thoughts.
Thousands of them. And they were everywhere.
His heart racing and eyes widening, Maxwell cried, "Stop! This is a trap!"
As soon as his warning left his mouth to echo off of the stone walls, a rain of giant boulders fell atop the Alliance. Screaming and frantically scrambling in an effort to keep from being crushed by those in the air, many on foot were trampled over by their comrades while large handfuls of them were taken out by the plummeting rocks.
Dragon and rider alike fell from the skies by the brutal blows delivered to them while the ground troops were little more than sitting targets with nowhere to go.
The air filled with screeches from the steeds and the shouts of the men all around while Dekim's monsters peered over the high ledges of the ravine walls and through the caves deep within the stone blockades. Once the initial shock had worn through the alliance, so came their retaliation.
Growling as his eyes narrowed focused on the guards thousands of feet up yet, Wufei gripped the hilt of his sword and shouted over the commotion, "After them, Nataku! Hold your breath when we get close!" Without hesitation, his green steed climbed sharply while avoiding another hail storm of falling boulders that was added with arrows and scorching oil.
"Follow them, Nataku!" Anna yelled to her dragon once she had an arrow noosed in her arrow's drawstring. The blue-purple was scaling up upon her command.
Meanwhile, those riders still in flight rushed to take out those archers and offenders within the caves led by Trowa and Heavy Arms. Slicing through one ogre and knocking its body back, the First Scout hollered back to the other soldiers around him, "Be sure to not let your steeds use their fire too often! The air in here will cook us if it gets too hot!"
Those dragons that had been in the midst of using their flame instantly put those efforts to a halt at the warning. Already, the air was significantly warmer than what it had been with a few hundred of those strikes.
"How is this happening?!" Gloria yelled from the bend in the wall that she and her pack managed to take cover behind in their human forms. Meeting Trent's eyes, she shook her head, "I thought that Angela gave the word that all was clear!"
The red werewolf growled under his breath, "Those monsters must have gotten to her and the rest of my team. She never would have willingly set us up for this."
"Whatever has happened, the wounded are our priority," Alex ordered. "We cannot fight in this situation, but we can get those who cannot walk back to the healers." Without hesitation, the group transformed back into the wolf shapes to run for those that they could carry. Before long, all of the werewolves around were following their example to look after their fallen.
Unable to get his bearings as he was swiftly flown through the chaos, Duo fought to keep his hands on his handhold as Scythe spun, dipped and dodged every threat that included those who had not been so lucky and were plunging to their deaths.
By not having a moment to breathe and collect his bearings, the prince was struggling to come up with a spell that would help all of them... let along finding a moment to release it.
Far overhead, Wufei and Anna broke through the ravine. Holding their breaths in the thin air, they turned their steeds along the opposite walls to work them in eliminating the hoards of demons that they found.
Cutting and shooting amidst Nataku and Ingier's flames, they fought until their burning lungs forced them to quickly descent back into the crevice. Dropping low enough to get their breaths again, they were joined by other riders to head back up for another hit.
"Damn it!" Duo hissed as he continued to struggle with his ability while more of his comrades were killed around him. "Scythe, find a safe place to take us down now!" He never even caught the eyes watching him within a nearby cave.
As the black dragon veered back the way from which she came to move for the back of the army, Treize stepped out into the open with Noventa's large head creeping out behind him. This was the opportunity to take the prince that he had been waiting for. Quickly mounting into his saddle and securing his harness, the Commander shouted, "Follow him!"
Quickly spreading his wings open as he stepped out of the cave, the purple-and-gold steed soared after their target. With so much confusion all around and attentions drawn to other things, Treize was able to shoot past the Alliance soldiers and their dragons unnoticed.
Having to deal with the falling rocks and other hazards was of little challenge to Noventa. His black eyes trained on the black beast several yards ahead, the obstacles did little to slow him. Even if he did fall back a few paces here and there, he never lost sight of his prize knowing that he would eventually reach it.
* * * * * *
Locked away in her spell room so that she could devote herself to 'watching' the battle through Treize's eyes, Dorothy slowly rose to stand amidst the glowing symbols around her. Her eyes wide, she breathed, "Yes... yes, not much further now. A large, oval-shaped window that displayed everything the Commander was seeing hovered before her.
Keeping her sights on the black and white dragons that continued to soar ahead of Noventa, the sorceress's mouth curled up in a ruthless smile. "Do not lose him now," she whispered. "Not when we are this close." Raising her right hand, she opened it as though it was gripping around something thick and sent a trace of her gift out.
* * * * * *
With a strangled gasp, Treize reached up to scratch at his throat for the air that had been cut off. And just as quickly as the grip on his neck appeared, it faded. Eyes wide and blinking, the knight swallowed roughly in knowing the warning message that the hold on him had been.
There was no room for failure here. Dorothy was watching and expecting him to capture the braided prince at this point. His life depended on that... as well as his soul if it was sent to the Keeper. The Demon Lord of the Underworld would likely have his spirit burn in agony for eternity for letting him down.
Gripping his handhold, the Commander leaned forward in his saddle and remained trained on the beasts carrying Duo safely through the onslaught. He was not going to miss this opportunity. Only a few more yards and he would have the most coveted weapon in the war.
Near the very back of the army, Sylvia cried along with Relena as they clung onto each other at the sight of a boulder screaming down for their wagon. Letting out a fierce roar, Sand Rock shot onto the scene to spin and crush the threat with his whirling tail. At contact, the boulder shattered into thousands of harmless, much smaller rocks.
Panting, Quatre patted his steed when he peered over to confirm that his wife and the queen were safe as they smiled and waved up at them. "Good boy!" he cheered as they continued to fly about as a protection to the healers and unarmed helpers of the Alliance.
Somehow, along with the aid of Zechs and Peacemillion, they had been successful in keeping the backline untouched. It had been a challenge, but they had managed.
As the empath and his steed returned to his side, the long-haired king smiled and shook his head, "Not bad for a pacifist, I must say." Beneath him, his own orange-and-gold dragon grunted in agreement as she turned her head back to briefly smirk on Sand Rock with an impressed expression.
"I only hope that we can keep this up," Quatre managed as he fought to catch his breath and wipe away some of the sweat pouring from his face with his arm. "I trust my friend, here, to hold up but I am not sure if I can."
Chuckling, Zechs reassured, "Well, you have certainly earned even more of my respect." That was as much as he was able to get out before he reeled Peacemillion up to take out a hail of arrows by knocking them away with her neck as they bounced off of her thick scales.
Already busy with her fellow healers in tending to the wounded that were brought to them, Sally peered up just in time to catch sight a familiar couple of dragons approaching.
"Duo," she sighed in relief. "I was beginning to fear the worst for him since he hasn't released his ability yet." Even if it was only a few minutes that had passed since the start of the ambush, that was far too long for anyone's liking at that moment.
Working to calm the anxious horses with Sylvia's help, Relena yelled over the noise echoing off the walls to explain, "There is simply too much going on for him to be effective with whatever spell would be needed to help us." Gently gripping the muzzle of one of the silverbacks, she ran her hand along his nose and soothed, "Shhh. It's alright."
The seer peered over her shoulder to catch sight of her braided friend and smiled, "Thank the Creator he managed to get away so that he can do something now."
Just then, she spotted something coming up steadily behind the prince. At first, she thought that it was just another rider from the Alliance maneuvering through the attack, but then at a closer look, she realized aloud, "He's being followed."
A chill of dread running up her spine, Sylvia spun around to scan the air. And it only took her a heartbeat for her widening eyes to fall on the familiar dragon in the distance. "Noventa," she breathed in disbelief.
Everything in her said that it could not be her family's steed... but there was no mistaking the horns or the gold scales that took on a swirled design along the purple beast. But his eyes were now black. That was not right.
...Then all of her doubts were instantly banished when she looked to the rider.
Her lungs sucking in a deep breath as her vision clouded with stinging tears, the young queen shouted, "Father! Oh, dear Creator, that's my father chasing him!"
As Wing flew high overhead to make Scythe's travel through the ravine more smooth by blocking the oncoming boulders and other weapons, Duo was finally able to collect himself to feel the need and ability of his gift ready to pour out of him. A plan in mind, he prepared himself when he looked back to see that he had company.
"Looks like I had better take care of that little problem first," he told himself as he stared forward to appear as though he had not noticed the chase. His right hand glowing with black light, he prepared himself to strike.
* * * * * *
They were so close to Prince Duo that Dorothy could smell his sweat carried on the wind. Folding her hands before her face, she muttered under her breath, "Come on. Almost there now."
* * * * * *
Frantic, Sylvia gripped onto a stunned Relena's arm as tears rolled down her face. "Please! Duo has to help my father!" she cried.
Swallowing, the seer nodded and shouted up to her husband to see that both he and Zechs were preparing to leave to help their braided counterpart. The king drew his weapon and glared heatedly at the rider that everyone else around was too preoccupied to notice. "Quatre!" she hollered.
"I sense it, love. Working on it," the empath's voice answered through her mind. Closing his eyes, Quatre sent his gift out and into the prince's mind.
With a gasp, Maxwell froze. "Sylvia's,,, father?" he whispered. The Commander was glaring back at him as their eyes locked. But there was something wrong with what Duo was feeling in the man's soul. It was compromised somehow. And suddenly, he could sense another pair of eyes on him looking in through magic.
Instantly, the unicorn let out a shrill neigh of warning while the dragon snarled at the true owner of that glare. Both beckoned to be released now that they had their true allies to protect and their enemies to smite.
"You are mine now!" Treize cried in Dorothy's voice as he raised his sword at the distance that Noventa was closing. Clearing Scythe's bucks and thrashes in attempt to stop him, the purple steed rounded his whole body so that the knight could have a clear shot at cutting through their target's harness.
Just as Khushrenada lowered the blade, Duo let out a sharp yell as his hand glowed a brilliant white this time. Quickly raising it, he fired a beam that engulfed his would-be assailants.
And with the release of that light magic, the dark followed to create an explosion of electric currents that shot out in millions of bolts that all went for the demons above and all around and even into the city to incinerate them into nothingness.
While the injured and dying of the Alliance cried out through the stretch of the ravine, the wails of those beasts as they were surrounded by the black bolts of power chimed in as well until they overpowered the noise around.
* * * * * *
"Noooo! It cannot be! Not now!" Dorothy shouted as the blinding rays pierced her mirror. The blast sent her flying back to crash against the wall behind her as the grip of her dark gift's hold on Treize was severed completely. The mirror melted away along with the glowing symbols with a loud whoosh to plunge the sorceress into complete darkness.
Years of her hard work to master the spell that made the Commander Dekim's loyal puppet had just been undone in seconds... as if it were nothing.
Lying sprawled out on the floor, Dorothy's hands clenched into tight fists as she panted through her building rage. Her head falling back with her eyes closed, she let out a howling scream.
* * * * * *
From her place within the throne room, Angela moved to the window at the sound of an explosion. Her eyes widening when she peered outside, a sharp gasp filled her lungs. To her disbelief, she watched as those couple hundred soldiers waiting to strike within Taurus all collapsed throughout the city linked by dark bolts of black energy.
Out in the halls, the same screams filled the air as those standing watch were no doubt taken into the same bout of magic. The power, however, never came anywhere near the throne room to spare the werewolves inside.
"And by the same red moon that had taken him, the only salvation for all that is good in this world shall return a young man... the Prince of Sanq... the god of Death to the wicked... the one who will fight to banish the darkness when all other hope seems lost," Angela breathed in a prefect recanting of the prophecy passed to all from so long ago.
To her wonder, she witnessed the guards around evaporate as the clouds broke to clear skies and the brilliant sun.
TBC...
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